It’s time to tidy with annual cleanups after a long winter

Litter Free Inc.’s trash pick up public areas set for Saturday; Southeast Alaska Land Trust delays wetlands cleanup until May 16 due to heavy snowpack

Skylar Bayer retrieved a bike and other debris from the roadside during Litter Free’s 2025 public community cleanup. Yellow bags left by the roadway by 2 p.m. during this year’s cleanup on Saturday, April 18, 2026, will be picked up by volunteer drivers. (Photo courtesy Litter Free Inc.).

By Laurie Craig

Juneau Independent

Melting snow brings delight and disgust as trash that accumulated over the winter emerges like skunk cabbage. Similar to the bright yellow plants poking through slush, soon bright yellow garbage bags will sprout along roadsides.

Saturday is the annual Community Cleanup sponsored by Litter Free Inc., Juneau’s all-volunteer nonprofit spring cleaning organization. April 18 is this year’s designated day for the community to spend the morning picking up debris from public areas around the borough.

Special heavy-duty yellow garbage bags will be provided at several locations starting at 8 a.m. Saturday for families, civic groups, businesses and individuals to pick up neighborhood and roadside waste. The yellow bags, tied securely to retain contents, and left beside major roadways by 2 p.m. will be picked up for disposal. Special green bags are for recycling aluminum, plastic and tin, but no glass.

A Saturday noon-2 p.m. picnic is planned for cleanup volunteers at the Alaskan Brewing Company Tasting Room on Commercial Boulevard in Lemon Creek.

Volunteers may pick up Litter Free bags on Saturday morning at these locations: Duck Creek Market, Forbidden Peak Brewery, Fred Meyer (main entrance), Foodland and Superbear IGA stores, Douglas Fire Hall, and Western Auto Marine. Volunteers can pick up bags early on Thursday and Friday. Check the website at litterfree.org for early locations and more information.

There is extra incentive to volunteer this year as well as the satisfaction of tidying the town. Cycle Alaska and Juneau Bike Doctor are providing the opportunity to win new bikes for two youth participants in separate drawings. Also, two adult participants will be selected in separate drawings to win a helicopter tour provided by Coastal Helicopters and NorthStar Helicopters.

In addition to those businesses listed above, others supporting Saturday’s cleanup are Alaska Waste, Waste Management-Capital Recycling and Disposal, and the Goldbelt Tram.

During the 2025 community cleanup day, 900 volunteers collected 30,650 pounds of waste and 172 pounds of recycled materials. Throughout summer and fall, a Youth Litter Patrol program encourages young people to clean up public areas and helps them earn money for youth organizations. 

Litter Free Inc. has been active since 1988 in making Juneau a cleaner place to be. But local cleanup started much earlier. In 1916, then-mayor Ben D. Stewart encouraged citizens to clean up “the entire city.”

Normally, the Southeast Alaska Land Trust (SEALT) holds its wetlands cleanup on the same day as Litter Free’s event. But this year, due to extraordinary snow amounts, the land conservation group has rescheduled its spring cleanup for Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Their area of focus is Vanderbilt Creek, its surrounding wetlands and forested uplands.

SEALT’s office at 5150 Glacier Highway (across from Western Auto) is where volunteers are invited to convene on May 16. For more details, contact the trust at info@sealt.org.

• Contact Laurie Craig at lauriec@juneauindependent.org.